Records

Antoni “Toni” Bernadó Planas — an Andorran legend and reportedly the only man to run in five Olympic marathons (1996-2012) — has blasted the listed M50 WR for 3,000 meters, according to IAAF. Eleven years after clocking a PR 8:03.69 in 2007, he ran a stunning 8:37.94 at age 51. The mark came July 14 at Granollers, Spain. The listed WR is 8:41.2 by France’s Christian Geffrey in 2007. His IAAF bio site shows a 3000 progression that jumps from 2011 to 2018. So apparently he’s been busy at other distances. On the Age-Graded Tables, his 8:37 is worth an…

After setting four world records in a couple weeks, what does W65 Karla del Grande do to relax? On Saturday, she jumped into a masters exhibition 100 and lowered her own WR anew. Competing at the NACAC Senior (Kiddie) Championships in Toronto, Karla rode a legal wind to a sizzling 13.91 clocking for third (behind a W40 and W45). Minutes later, M50 Chris Warburton won the men’s race in 11.72 (thanks to an illegal wind of 3 mps.) Also contested were men’s and women’s 800s. And in the open women’s 100, W35 Tahesia Harrigan-Scott of British Virgin Islands clocked a…

Karla del Grande added to her legend at two recent Canadian meets, setting and lowering the W65 world records in the 100 and 200. She clocked 13.96 to beat her late-July mark of 14.00 at Ontario, and 28.53 to beat her own recent 29.21 and lower the listed 200 WR of 29.37 by Nadine O’Connor in 2007. And a masters mole tells me: “Due to a timing glitch in the 200-meter race, Karla and another competitor had to rerun their race about 30 minutes after the first race. We will never know what her time was in the first race, but…

So much for a lull between Spokane nationals and Malaga worlds. Christa Bortignon of British Columbia scored 4838 points in the outdoor pentathlon over the weekend to nip the listed W80 world record of 4319 by Vermont’s Flo Meiler at 2014 Winston-Salem nationals. Christa competed at Canadian masters nationals at South Surrey Athletic Park. (See results here.) Not far away, in Seattle, Neni Lewis beat the listed American record in the W55 throws pentathlon, scoring 4370 points. The previous record-holder (4219) was fellow Hall of Famer Carol Finsrud, who also competed — and set an AR in the ultraweight pent….

Roy Englert of Springfield, Virginia, shattered a 27-year-old world record in the M95 800 to kick off Spokane nationals at Eastern Washington University. (See results here.) He became the oldest man to go sub-6 when he clocked 5:18.15, taking 45 (!!!) seconds off the listed outdoor WR of 6:02.94 by fellow Yank Herb Kirk at 1991 Turku worlds. (Roy set the indoor WR of 6:03.84 at this year’s Landover nationals.) Sue McDonald of Santa Barbara lowered her own W55 AR in the 800 by clocking 2:27.00 — a few ticks ahead of her recent 2:28.88. Three-time race walk Olympian Michelle…

Despite sprints run into winds, at least two world records and two American records were set over the weekend at the USATF West Regional Masters Championships at West Los Angeles College. (See results here.) Traveling from Georgia, W60 Lesley Hinz ran the mile in 5:39.84 to beat the listed WR of 5:42.65 by Kathy Martin in 2013. So Lesley has a complete set, having set the indoor mile WR (5:43.75) at North Carolina nationals in March. That was Saturday. On Sunday, she ran the 800 in 2:34.60 — just missing the listed WR of 2:33.09 by Germany’s Lidia Zentner in…

Susan “Lynn” Cooke of Tampa is relatively new to masters track, having “first stepped on a track when I was 56,” as she once wrote. So she can be excused for not getting the memo that you don’t set records six months before aging up. But Lynn set herself a goal: the W55 American record in the mile. On Sunday, at age 59 1/2, Lynn says she clocked 5:38.3 — taking a sizable chunk off the listed AR of 5:41.71 by Lesley Chaplin Hinz in 2015. (Results from the Robert Walker Jr. Pre Disney Club Championships Relays & Open Tune-up…

This weekend’s USATF masters women’s decathlon is in the books. All that’s left is the shouting over who set world age-group records. (No official lists are kept, but these marks will likely get wide recognition.) See results here. I suspect most of the six entrants will lay claim to some WR or AR, given changes in age-graded factors and implement weights since the last major masters women’s dec in 2009. (The dec also was contested in 2011 in Dallas. And Jen Freemas set a W35 AR in 2015.) One thing is certain: Nobody at Nevada Union High School was in…

Berkeley-based Strawberry Canyon Track Club is reporting that its M50 mile star Tom LeGan ran a road mile last weekend in 4:24.8, supposedly breaking the point-to-point age-group WR of 4:28 at the Fifth Avenue Mile. (Not sure of details.) The Los Gatos event, called the One Mile Bang, isn’t yet listing results. But road miles don’t count in World Masters Athletics stats anyway. Tom has his eye on the listed WR, however — Nolan Shaheed’s 4:25.04 from 2001. Tom’s moonshot reportedly will take place July 17 at a meet in San Rafael. (I’m worried about it being unsanctioned, however.) A…

Hall of Famer and former WMA Athlete of the Year Charles Allie pulled a Usain Bolt at Des Moines USA open nationals Thursday, running away with a “mixed masters” 200 exhibition in a spectacular 25.75 seconds. That made him, at 70, the oldest human to go sub-26 in the deuce. He crushed the listed M70 world record of 26.47 by Britain’s Glyn Sutton at 2015 Lyon worlds. On the Age-Graded Tables, his mark is equivalent to an open (20-30) time of 19.68. (Methinks it should be 19.08.) (Charlie ran a 26.45 indoor WR this past winter, so he improved the…

The USATF Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships begins in Winston Salem March 1st. The USATF Masters Indoor National Championships attracts the best Masters Track and Field athletes,... https://t.co/3vL263nxuX

"We’ll never know how many potential Michael Jordans or Frank Shorters succumbed to the siren song of yoga or glow-in-the-dark dodgeball." Danny Monistere reflects on the times... https://t.co/0uyAMzp2iV

The 2019 USATF Masters Indoor T&F Championships will be held March 1-3 at JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Entry and additional athlete information can be found here. https://t.co/Jhq9XgY2fQ
Entries received after 11:59 pm EST on Friday have $50 late fee!

My mother, Geri Stone of Seal Beach @LeisureWorld, is in her late 80s and the part of an opera diva suspected of murder was the role of her life. Check out this silent film spoof: https://t.co/ChVdWfiR5D

Kudos to supersprinters Charlie Allie and Carol Lafayette-Boyd on being named @WMA_admin World Athletes of the Year after WR-setting season. https://t.co/bb8qJZnIty @usatf @USAMastersTrack @wmaToronto2020 @mstrtrackrookie